Duelist Kingdom: The Next Go Around
by Crimsonsnake91489
Summary: Kaiba sets up a new tournament. Everyone goes to compete for the title King of Games. But evil arises from the shadows and creates havoc among the duelists.
1. Surprises and Overconfidence

Yu-Gi-Oh!

Duelist Kingdom: The Next Go Around

**Chapter One:**

**Surprises and Overconfidence**

It all started on a clear day in Duelist Kingdom. Seto Kaiba had been arranging a new tournament to avenge his loss in his previous tournament. Maximillian Pegasus had put on the last Duelist Kingdom tournament with Yugi Moto emerging as the winner. Kaiba had lost in a heated match against Yugi. Unlike the first tournament, before the tournament could begin, every duelist had to submit their decks for inspection. That way no one could sneak in any illegal cards. Not Marik, Ishizu, Bakura, Kaiba, Pegasus. No one at all. Duelists from around the world came to Duelist Kingdom to take their shot to be known as the "King of Games." Yugi, Joey Wheeler, and their friends Duke Devlin, and Tristan had all entered the tournament.

Yugi said to Joey as they were on their way to get their decks registered, "Whatever happens in this tournament, we are going to support each other in every match, right?" His three friends all nodded in affirmation. Just then, Yugi's grandpa called to them, "Yugi! Joey!" "Hey grandpa," Yugi said. "Have you come to watch the tournament?" "I wouldn't miss it for the world," Grandpa said. "You all have learned to trust in the Heart of the Cards. This is the time to prove yourselves to the world!" Then from behind them came a drawling voice. "I wouldn't be so confident!" Kaiba was coming down the road followed by his little brother, Mokuba. "I plan to destroy you all in this tournament." Looking at Yugi, he snarled, "I haven't forgotten what happened last time we were here!" Joey then said, "Why don't you try and get a piece of me?" Joey lunged at Kaiba, only to be held back by Duke and Tristan. "Arrgh let me have him! Let me have him!" Kaiba laughed, "You seriously think that you can beat me? You don't stand a chance!" Joey growled. Kaiba said, "I don't have time for punks like you Wheeler. My match is with Yugi. Unfortunately, the match-ups only come up randomly so I'll just have to wait. It's only a matter of time before we meet again Yugi." Kaiba walked off. Just as he was leaving, Mokuba said, "My big brother is gonna win this tournament and there's nothing you can do to stop him!" Joey called, "Yeah, that's right! Walk away! We'll take that rich boy down like always won't we Yug?" "I don't know. He seems pretty confident" Yugi said. He could feel the power of his Millennium Puzzle growing inside him. "But I think everything will be alright!" Just then, Yugi changed. He now was Yami Yugi, the ancient Pharaoh of Egypt

Grandpa said to the group as he was leaving, "Well you boys have fun and use your brains." Tristan called after him, "Hey Gramps, have you seen Taia around?" "Well no I haven't. I was going to ask you where she was." But the answer came quickly. Taia came running down the street towards them. Everything about her seemed normal except for one thing. There was a duel disk on her arm. Yugi asked, "Are you entering the tournament too Taia?" She replied out of breath, "Yeah, I spent all last night putting my deck together. Sorry I didn't say anything before, but I wanted to surprise you guys." "Well let's get going! I'm feeling a good day of dueling coming on" Joey said. "Just as I expected," Taia moaned, "just as cocky and sure of himself as always." "That's right!" Joey exclaimed.

They made their way through the crowd and they finally got to the check-in desk. They all turned in their decks. The man with Yugi's deck said, "Your deck includes the Dark Magician and the three Egyptian God cards. Correct?" "Yes" Yugi replied. "And I've got my Red Eyes!" Joey yelled. "Calm down fly boy!" Taia retorted. They all had their decks examined and were cleared to enter the tournament. "Bring on my first victim!" Joey was ecstatic. He hadn't been this confident in his dueling skills for a long time.

The announcer called over the loudspeaker, "We have the matchups for the first round of the tournament." The whole crowd began going crazy. They looked on the big board to see their matchups. Tristan, Duke, and Taia were facing people they had never heard of. Yugi and Joey, however, were pitted against Mai Valentine and Seto Kaiba respectively. Joey cheered, "Yeah! I get a crack at rich boy! Kaiba, here I come!" Yugi, on the other hand, was silent. They had been friends with Mai ever since Kaiba's first tournament. Yugi caught a glimpse of her in the crowd. She had a determined look on her face. Yugi knew that she meant business. Regardless of their friendship, it was business now. As the day progressed, Duke, Taia, and Tristan all won their duels with relative ease. Everyone now was focused on the marquis matchups of the day.


	2. The Swift Defeat

**Chapter Two:**

** The Swift Defeat**

Joey's duel with Kaiba was first. Joey made his way to the dueling ring. But Kaiba wasn't there. Joey said, "Ha! Kaiba ain't even here to fight in his own tournament!" "Who said I wasn't going to fight?" The voice came from the darkness of the opposite hallway. Kaiba appeared dressed as normal, wearing his white trench coat and an angry look on his face. "Well it's about time Kaiba," said Tristan. Yugi called to Joey, "We're all here for you Joey!" "Watch out for his Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon Joey!" Duke called to him. "I'm all over it guys" Joey said with confidence. Kaiba's expression didn't change at all. "Your overconfidence is boring me. Now let's get this duel over with so I can face Yugi already!" "I'm gonna stop you before you even realize it!" Joey yelled back. The dueling field lit up to life. The life points were distributed. The battle had started.

Joey had fought Kaiba before, twice in fact. Both times, he lost horribly. Kaiba had a knack for picking his opponents apart with his Shrink and Crush cards, which took out every monster with an attack power of 1500 or more from the opponent's deck and side of the field. Joey thought to himself, "I've got to watch for those two cards. If I can take them out, then I should be in good shape. But I've got to make a great guess when I try to destroy those two cards."

Kaiba started the duel by placing 1 monster in defense mode and placing 2 cards face down. Joey started with a great hand. Pot of Greed, his Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Giafried the Iron Knight made a great combination for a start. Looking at his hand he realized something. It was something he never told any of his friends. He had come across a Black Skull Dragon card in the last dueling tournament. He had secretly won the card when he was trying to save his sister, Serenity, from the Big 5. He also knew that he had a Summoned Skull in his deck. So Joey started thinking, "If I can get my Red-Eyes out there, and do some damage, then bring out Black Skull, I can beat Kaiba! But it all depends if I can get those two cards out of play first." Joey placed Giafried face down and a couple magic and trap cards down.

Kaiba scoffed, "Is that all you've got? If you think you have any chance of beating me, you'll have to do much better!" Kaiba placed another card face down in defense mode and ended his turn. Joey began to think, "He hasn't summoned anything yet, that can only be because he wants to get his Blue-Eyes White Dragons out." But looking at his cards, he didn't have anything that could stand a chance against a Blue Eyes attack. But wait! Joey realized that he had placed down Dark Hole, Mystical Space Typhoon, AND Harpies' Feather Duster on the field. So now he was in perfect position. Kaiba already had three magic/trap cards down on the field. So Joey thought, "Two of those cards would have to be his Shrink and Crush cards if he's setting up for his Blue Eyes." Joey activated Pot of Greed, which gave him two cards in addition to his normal draw. He looked with shock. There it was: The Black Skull Dragon. To add to his delight, he had also drawn Summoned Skull. All he needed now was Polymerization and he'd be ready to take Kaiba out! "You think you've got this duel won already Kaiba?" Joey laughed, "Well guess again!" Joey activated Dark Hole. This destroyed every monster on the field, including Kaiba's cards and Giafried. Then he played Harpies' Feather Duster, which destroys all magic and trap cards on the field. But Kaiba seemed ready for this one. Kaiba activated Magic Jammer which negates the effect of any Magic or Spell card. But just before Joey's card was destroyed, he looked in his hand and saw that he had Seven Tools of the Bandit. This card negates the effect of any Trap card at the cost of 500 life points. Joey quickly played the card and Kaiba's counterattack was finished. Joey was right. Kaiba had already placed down his two prized cards. Kaiba looked in shock. He had just been outwitted by an amateur duelist, even though Joey was ranked #7 in the world. He didn't know what to do.

Kaiba already had everything set up. He was going to tribute his two face-down monsters to summon Blue Eyes. And then he was going to activate his Shrink and Crush cards which would have left Joey with mediocre monsters and no chance of winning the duel. But all hope of that was finished. Joey then summoned Red Eyes Black Dragon to the field and took a direct shot at Kaiba's Life points. Kaiba was now down to nearly half of his points, since they started with 5000 to begin with. That ended Joey's turn.

Tristan and Yugi were on the sidelines talking amongst themselves about Joey and Kaiba. Tristan said, "I think Joey actually might be able to beat Kaiba in this one! He's already taken out Kaiba's Shrink and Crush cards!" Yugi nodded, "Yeah, Joey has Kaiba right where he wants him: on the run."

Kaiba's next turn only lasted long enough for him to place another monster face-down. Joey then took his draw. He had done it. He had drawn Polymerization. But since he hadn't gotten Summoned Skull out there already, he couldn't pull the fusion quite yet. So, he decided to give Kaiba one last shot at him. He put Summoned Skull face down and placed Polymerization down on the field. Taia asked, "Why didn't Joey just finish Kaiba off? He could've annihilated him!" "I dunno. It doesn't make sense to me either," Tristan replied. "HEY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING MAN!? YOU HAVE HIM ON THE ROPES! TAKE HIM OUT!" Tristan yelled at Joey. "Don't worry guys! I've got a surprise for you!" Joey called back. Kaiba activated Enchanted Javelin, which allowed him to summon twice in one turn, but he couldn't attack with his second summoned monster. He summoned another monster face-down. "This duel is over!" Kaiba cried. He then sacrificed both of his face down monsters. "I knew this was gonna happen!" Duke said. Kaiba had summoned his favorite monster, the Blue Eyes White Dragon! Ironic to his friends, Joey looked unfazed. "Nice monster Kaiba!" Joey said. Duke asked the group, "Do you think he realizes that nothing in his deck is powerful enough to beat that monster?" "I think the overconfidence has gone to his head," Taia replied.

Joey started laughing hysterically. "What's so funny? Why are you laughing when you face inevitable defeat?" Kaiba asked. "No, I just think it's funny how much you think that you're better than me when I'm about to take out your best monster." Joey replied through the laughs. "You fool. You know that there's nothing in your deck powerful enough to beat my monster, not even your Red Eyes Black Dragon!" Kaiba said with confidence. "You're right." Joey replied calmly, "My Red Eyes can't beat your monster. But I have something else that can." At this point, Tristan was losing his mind, "JOEY, YOU DON'T HAVE ANYTHING THAT CAN BEAT HIM!" "You just watch and learn Tristan!" Joey called back at him. "How can he be so overconfident that he doesn't realize that he's been beaten yet again by Kaiba?" Taia asked. Yugi replied, "I dunno."

Meanwhile, back in the foyer, Yugi's Grandpa was watching the match on the big screen TV's. He was not as concerned as Tristan. "Joey, believe in your deck, and nothing can fail you."

Kaiba couldn't attack with his Blue Eyes, so his turn was done. Joey, who was still laughing, said to Kaiba, "What would you say if I told you that I was going to destroy your Blue Eyes on this turn?" "I would say you're living in a dream world Wheeler!" Kaiba replied through gritted teeth. "Well let's see who's dreaming now?" Joey flipped over his Summoned Skull. "Umm, guys. Do you realize what those two monsters fuse into?" Duke asked. Yugi answered, "Yeah, but Joey doesn't have that card!"

"Look out!" Joey yelled. He activated Polymerization. Kaiba looked with horror. "You can't possibly have that card! It's impossible!" But to everyone's surprise, except for Joey of course, the Black Skull Dragon emerged. "No! This cannot be!

"What's wrong Kaiba? Can't imagine losing in your first battle?" Joey asked. Kaiba growled at him. Joey then ordered his monster to attack Kaiba's Blue Eyes. It was shattered into a million pieces. "Alright!" Joey cried. "Yeah! Nice one Joey!" His friends called from the sidelines.

"No! My Blue-Eyes!" Kaiba looked in shock. "Take that rich boy!" Joey exclaimed. "And to finish this off, I play Monster Reborn!" This card could take any monster from either graveyard and place it on your side. "And I like the look of that Blue Eyes White Dragon, so I think that I'll take that one." "No! This cannot be happening!" Kaiba pleaded. Joey then ordered the final blow with Blue Eyes White Dragon's strongest attack: White Lightning. It was finished. Joey had finally defeated Seto Kaiba. "Yeah! How do you like that? Guess that fight with Yugi is gonna have to wait. Won't it Kaiba?" Kaiba was at a loss for words. "How did I lose? And so quickly?" Kaiba asked himself. "You may have beaten me Wheeler, but there is no way you'll survive the rest of the competition!" "We'll see about that!" Joey replied. Kaiba walked off in disgust and defeat.

"Congratulations Joey! You finally pulled it off!" Yugi said. "Thanks man." Joey replied. "I'm starving! What is there to eat?"


	3. Forgiveness and Familiar Faces

**Chapter Three**

**Familiar Faces and Forgiveness**

Yugi and his friends had gone through some pretty rough times. In one situation, they were pitted against a possessed Marik. During the Battle City tournament, Marik had personally sent Mai valentine and Odion to the Shadow Realm. Joey had tried to protect Mai in her duel with Marik by sacrificing himself when Marik ordered the Winged Dragon of Ra to attack Mai herself. But that didn't stop Marik from using his Millennium Rod, which banished her soul to the Shadow Realm. Mai's soul eventually escaped the Shadow Realm, but ever since, she has had nightmares of Marik using his Rod against her. Ever since the first Duelist Kingdom tournament, Joey had a soft spot for Mai. Now Mai had to fight his best friend. She had fought him twice before, but during the most recent time, she was under the influence of Dartz, the ancient ruler of Atlantis, and the Oreikalkos. Yugi didn't want to fight her then just as he didn't want to fight her now. He never liked to get into conflicts with his friends, since they gave him the strength to overcome countless deficits. Mai wasn't exactly his friend, but they had been through so much together, that their relationship was more out of respect for each other. Thankfully, they weren't in a situation where they had to deal with the Seal of Oreikalkos. But regardless of the situation, Yugi had to duel her.

Mai was famous for her use of Harpies in her dueling strategy. Quite frankly, her deck revolved around Harpies. While possessed by the Oreikalkos, she used her harpies in an attempt to steal Joey's soul. Her two strongest monsters: Harpy Lady Sisters and Harpies Pet Dragon nearly tore Joey apart. If it wasn't for the Claw of Hermos, a rare dragon card, Joey would have lost his soul forever. But that was all in the past. Now they had a few hours to rest before Yugi's inevitable duel with Mai.

As the gang was walking towards a tofu joint, they were flagged down by Marik, Ishizu, and Bakura. "Greetings Pharaoh" Marik said. "I see that you three all have advanced in this tournament" Yugi said. They nodded in agreement. "My dear sister, Ishizu, dispatched Weevil in quick fashion." "Weevil? That bug kid?" Tristan asked. "The same. And Bakura just got done beating Rex Raptor" Marik replied. "Who did you duel Marik?" Taia asked. "I was against some no-namer" Marik replied. "We heard that someone has already beaten Kaiba. Is this true?" "Yeah it is. Joey just beat him in three turns!" Tristan said. "Congratulations Joey!" Bakura said. "Thanks Bakura!" Joey replied.

"Who do you have to face Pharaoh?" Ishizu asked. "I face Mai Valentine." He replied. "Isn't she that girl that I sent to the Shadow Realm while I was possessed?" Marik asked. "Yeah, she is. Thankfully after Yugi beat you at Battle city, her mind returned." Joey said. "But she said that she still has nightmares of when you banished her to the Shadow Realm." Marik replied, "Well, I hope she understands that I was not in control of myself at that time." "We'll find out soon enough." Tristan pointed out.

Coincidentally, Mai was walking down the street towards them. "Well if it isn't the motley crew." Mai said. Her eyes met Marik's and she seemed paralyzed. "Don't worry. I am in control of my body now. The evil spirit that possessed me has left." Marik assured her. Regardless of this, Mai seemed somewhat scared of Marik even being in her presence. "I regret that my previous actions have scarred you." Marik said. "If I was in control of my body, I would never have done something so cruel." "Mai, this isn't the same guy who did those awful things to you!" Taia said. But through all of this, Mai seemed to be in some sort of trance. She was having another daydream, but this was one like her nightmares. It took her a few minutes to snap out of it, but when she did, she said, "I know that you wouldn't want to _really_ hurt me." "So, can you forgive me for what I did to you? I swear I didn't want these things to happen to you." Marik pleaded. "Well, I'm more the 'forgive and forget' kind of girl. So, let's let bygones be bygones." Mai replied. "Thank you very much. I swear that I will never do anything so cruel ever again."Marik said.

Meanwhile, Joey was standing there and he couldn't hold it in. "Ok now that we've made peace, can we get some tofu? I'm about to chew through my duel disk!" "Do you only think of your stomach?" Mai and Taia said together. Under his breath, Duke said "Jinx!" "Well, we are going to go see Pegasus's duel with his opponent. So, we'll see you later." Ishizu said. "Farewell my Pharaoh." "Good luck in your duel Pharaoh" Bakura said "See you guys!" Tristan called back as they walked off. They went to the tofu shop, got Joey his tofu and then made their way back to the tournament for Yugi's duel with Mai.


	4. Cheapskates and Strange Coincidences

**Chapter Four:**

**Cheapskates and Strange Coincidences**

Mai and Yugi made their way to the dueling arena for the marquee matchup of the day. Joey and Kaiba's duel was a big deal, but this one had the defending Duelist Kingdom champion involved. As much as Yugi did not want to duel Mai, he felt the desire to be the best growing inside him. He had only lost a duel once. That time, he was lured by the Seal of Oreikalkos, which took Yugi's soul rather than the Pharaoh's. But since then, he was almost unbeatable. Every duelist has somewhat of a weakness, but Yugi was the exception to the rule.

Taia, and Joey were on the sidelines of the duel when they were joined by Marik, Ishizu, and Bakura. "Come to watch Yugi's duel?" Taia asked. Marik answered, "Yes, I want to see if Yugi still uses the Egyptian God cards." "Well, you're in luck. He still has them all, but he usually only uses Slifer the Sky Dragon" Joey said. "Yeah, I guess he doesn't want to unleash the Winged Dragon of Ra since he saw how much damage it could do if it was used in a Shadow Duel." Taia said. "I'm sure that if he gets in a situation where there is no risk, he'll use it." Marik said.

Something about Marik wasn't right. After the evil spirit left him, he looked normal and didn't seem to have a craving for cards. But now, he was asking questions about the Egyptian God cards again. Something inside him was growing, a memory Marik had repressed ever since Battle City. He began to feel a craving for power again. Ishizu and Bakura noticed that something about Marik was amiss. But for the time being, they looked at each other and silently agreed to keep an eye on him.

Yugi and Mai began their duel. Yugi anticipated her consistent use of Harpies in her dueling strategy, so he needed to be careful when it came to her monsters' special abilities.

Meanwhile, Duke and Tristan had been held up in the foyer because of the crowds. "Why is everyone here? They can go watch Yugi's duel in person!" Tristan replied, "I dunno. This doesn't make any sense." Just then they heard a roar of applause, wolf-whistles, and cheers from the crowd. They looked up at the big screens and saw Kaiba walking away from what seemed like another duel.

"Hey! Joey just beat Kaiba down a few hours ago! Why is he still dueling?" Duke asked. "Maybe you should've checked the rule book before you entered this tournament" said a drawling voice from behind them.

"This tournament is a double-elimination tournament. I made it this way so that if some chump got lucky and beat me, I'd still have a chance to face Yugi." Kaiba said. "But the catch is that the only person who this works for is me." "Why! You cheapskate!" Tristan yelled hurling himself at Kaiba. Duke held him back as much as he could, but he couldn't hold him completely. But for whatever he could hold on to, it caused Tristan to lose his balance and fall right at Kaiba's feet.

Kaiba snarled, "That's where you belong, below everyone else. You have no chance to make it through the next round. See you around."

"Come on Tristan. We need to get to Yugi's duel. By now they could almost be done!" Duke said. They both took off at a dead sprint for Yugi's duel with Mai.


End file.
